Adobe accidentally leaks photo-editing app Project Nimbus

Project Nimbus is not a secret. Adobe already previewed the app at its MAX conference. But MacGeneration was able to download and play around with the upcoming app. Adobe told MacGeneration that it was available to some Creative Cloud subscribers for a short time by mistake. It has been removed since then.

In many ways, Project Nimbus feels like the Photos app and iCloud’s photo library on iOS and macOS — but on steroids. It lets you store your photos in the cloud, edit them and synchronize them between your devices.

Based on the leak, Project Nimbus gives you 1TB of storage to store all your photos, or at least your most recent ones if you’re a professional photographer. Project Nimbus supports RAW files and non-destructive edits. According to MacGeneration, you can revert any change you make from any device.

When it comes to editing tools, Project Nimbus isn’t a copy of Lightroom. There are fewer, more streamlined tools. It should be less intimidating for new comers and easier to provide the same tools on a computer, a tablet and a phone. If you need more tools, you can always edit your photos in another app. Project Nimbus isn’t going to replace Lightroom.

Finally, while you can still tag, flag and rate photos, Adobe is putting the search field front and center. Now that your photos are stored in the cloud, the company can identify the content of your photos. This way, you can perform powerful searches using natural language (“sunrise”, “penguins”, “mountains”…).

Project Nimbus isn’t going to revolutionize the way photographers edit their work. But it could become the backbone behind your photo library on all your devices. And while this leak isn’t particularly surprising, it proves that Adobe is still working on the app and that you could expect a beta or a final version at some point in the near future.